DeAndre Daniels' 27 Points Leads Connecticut past Iowa State, 81-76; Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State Advance

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 28, 2014

Coming into the tournament, everyone knew that the Connecticut Huskies were a talented group, but they we're very deep, and few thought they'd advance far, but, with an 81-76 victory over Iowa State in the East region semi-final, they're one step away from the Final Four.

The Huskies, having won any number of games and Big East championships at Madison Square Garden, might have felt right at home in the Big Apple, but junior DeAndre Daniels, who hails from Los Angeles and led all scorers with 27 points, it was a special night.

Daniels blew away the Cyclones by hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field, including a pair of three pointers and snatched 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies into the next round.

The Huskies (29-8), the seven seed in the region, meet up with Michigan State (29-8) in the East regional final on Sunday, after the Spartans took out Virginia, 61-59.

Over in the Midwest region, 8th-seeded Kentucky took out defending national champion Louisville, 74-69, the #4 seed, and #2 Michigan scraped by #11 Tennessee, 73-71.

The Wildcats and Wolverines will go at it Sunday, the winner advancing to the Final Four.

DeAndre Daniels, Shabazz Napier Toast Owls as Connecticut Wins, 90-66

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A swarming, crushing defense and big games from Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels produced a huge, 90-66, win for Connecticut, sending the overmatched Temple Owls to their sixth straight AAC defeat.

The Huskies held Temple to 38% shooting (23-60) while the Huskies put balls through hoops at a 53% clip. Particularly hot was the Daniels-Napier duo, combining for 58 points, nearly two-thirds of the Husky total.

Napier scored 27 points, going 9-for-14 overall, including five of eight from three-point range while canning all four of his free throw attempts. The senior guard dealt six assists and grabbed seven boards.

Daniels, the 6'9" junior forward from Los Angeles, led all scorers with a career-high 31 points on 11-for-189 shooting. He was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, hit five of six free throws and snatched 12 rebounds for his second double-double in his last three games.

Connecticut evened their conference record at 3-3 in the newly-formed American Athletic, an outgrowth of the mass defections from the Big East.

The Huskies close out their January schedule with a game at Rutgers on the 25th and a home meeting with Houston on the 30th.

DeAndre Daniels Carries Connecticut to 83-73 Win over #17 Memphis

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 16, 2014

Since their third loss of the season - a 74-65 loss at SMU, January 4 - and an 0-2 start in conference play, the Connecticut Huskies had fallen off the radar and out of the Top 25, but they made their presence known Thursday night with an 83-73 win at #17 Memphis.

While Shabazz Napier leads the team in just about every offensive category and put up a double-double, scoring 17 and dishing 10 assists, DeAndre Daniels was lead dog for the Huskies in their second straight American conference win.

Daniels, a 6'9" junior from Los Angeles, dropped in 23 points and hustled 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

A consistent performer (13.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Daniels hit nine of 15 shots, including a 4-for-5 mark from beyond the arc. His 11 boards included four on the offensive end, helping the Huskies to extra opportunities as they shot 57% and out-rebounded Memphis, 34-27.

Daniels also had a couple of steals and blocked four shots. The Huskies were deadly down the stretch, hitting their final seven shots and going six-for-six from the foul line, turing a close game, that had multiple ties and lead changes, into a late runaway as Connecticut finished with its largest lead of the contest.

The Huskies will have another chance to gain recognition while making up ground in their conference when they host #18 Louisville on Saturday. A win over the Cardinals would almost certainly result in re-insertion of the Huskies into the top 25 rankings. After the Memphis win, they are 14-3, overall.